Sunday, October 31, 2010

40 Days for Life Closing Rally

A special cake to thank all the volunteers who took part in the 40 Day vigil for Life.
The wall of fame - those are just some of the ~250 volunteers from all across New Brunswick who came to pray at the vigil site.
The pro-aborts tried to counter our vigil several times; they were able to gather about a dozen of people on one or two occasions, but they couldn't match our vigil. Today, in the vigil's last hours they gathered again - just to find over 30 people on our side.

(One of them later sent us an e-mail request to have their pictures removed. Not sure if we actually needed his permission to post the pictures, considering that the sidewalk by the hospital is a public space. But if they don't want their faces to be seen - I guess we can honor that request.)

To those, who had the courage to reject donuts and coffee when offered (because the 40 Day vigil meant not just praying, but also fasting) - an exquisite buffet.
After the dinner and the cake, it's time for a speech or two...
Speech by Peter Ryan, Executive Director of the New Brunswick Right to Life:

2 comments:

I don't understand why you would say that the pro-choice protesters did not succeed. We more than succeeded our goals. The point wasn't to "match" your vigil or to "outnumber" you, because thinking that way would be silly (and by the way, we were more than a dozen on more than one occasion, but anyway, it isn't about the numbers). Our goal was to raise awareness in the community on the real facts of abortion. We wanted to tell the women and everyone else that we respect their choices. I've had some people tell me that we force women to have abortions. I have no idea where that came from. I've been working with women for many years and for whatever situation they are going through, I listen to them, help them clarify their needs and priorities, we evaluate together every options and all their pros and cons and I let them make their own decisions. And whatever choice they make, I respect them and do not judge them. That's why we call ourselves pro-choice and not pro-aborts like you say. We are for the choice. We do not encourage abortion and we do not impose our beliefs and values. If women decide to continue their pregnancy, we are very happy for them and will help them in any way that we possibly can. We help and support them no matter what they decide to do.

We wanted to be there on the sidewalk so that the women that had an abortion, or thinking of having an abortion, or that may be in a situation in the future where they will think about abortion, to let them know that they don't need to feel guilty about it, that it is their right. Abortions have always existed and will always exist, whether it is legal or not. It is better that it is done in a safe way. We are aware that an abortion is not something positive, but it does have positive outcomes. Like every option, it has its pros and cons. And instead of ending abortion, we put our efforts in preventing people from getting into situations where they might need to face that issue (example : sex ed.).

I would like to mention that even if I don't always agree with your beliefs and values, I do however respect you and admire all the people who participated in your vigil. Social engagement and people getting together for a cause are things that are very rare lately and it was very admirable to see. And for what it is worth, I had always encouraged my peers to stay peaceful and respectful of others, despite the disagreement. I did not always agree with some words or behaviours. We all have different ways to express our feelings and opinions (just like some people that were pro-life became very agressive towards us that we almost had to dial 911).

I would also like to thank the man who had crossed the street one day in early october, to apologize for a gesture he had done. I truly appreciated that kindness.

For me, it was important that the community knew that not everyone was against abortion. I didn't know what I was getting into when I first went out there by myself, but when I saw just how much the community was supporting my being there, I decided to come back many more times with others that had the same view. And for the record, we did not ask our friends to drive by and honk for us. They were mostly people in the community that we did not know and that were happy to see us there.

Congratulations for the success of your vigil. Seeing you guys made me think a lot about the issue and has helped me develop an even greater passion for defending women's issues.

>Our goal was to raise awareness in the >community on the real facts of abortion.What kind of real facts of abortion did you expose? How did your protest convince anyone that abortion doesn't end baby's life? Or that unborn baby is so insignificant that killing him is ok? By touting your "choice choice choice" mantra, you were only preaching to the pro-abortion choir.

>If women decide to continue their pregnancy, >we are very happy for them and will help them >in any way that we possibly can.How about writing to your MP, asking him to support bill C-510? So many MPs oppose it, because it makes abortion anything less than unrestricted throughout all 9 months of pregnancy.

>Abortions have always existed and will always >exist, whether it is legal or not.Murders too. Should they be made legal, because people do it anyway?

>And instead of ending abortion, we put our>efforts in preventing people from getting into>situations where they might need to face that >issue (example: sex ed.)This is what "sex ed" looks like. How likely is it to prevent abortions, if the latter is referred to as "unpleasant five-minute procedure" after which "you're out and you're fine"? And, generally speaking, how likely is "sex ed" to succeed in preventing abortion if they emphasize on contraception - known for its high failure rate?

Those who develop this "sex ed" curriculum (including "experts" from "planned parenthood") expect an average teen to have 5 abortions. They know the failure rate and they know that many teens simply won't be able to use them correctly (such as taking the pill every 24 hours, not an hour before, not an hour later). By creating an illusion of safety, they encourage teens to use contraception so often, that it's guaranteed to fail. And then you know what happens.

If want to improve education - Teach fetal development. Want to prevent people from coping with "unplanned" pregnancy? Promote abstinence.